Full of Mercy
by RperQueen
Summary: Might change rating later. Their paths have been connected for a long time now, the insurance girls and the outlaw. Will the disappearance of the loosely-moraled preist, or the addition of a crazed sibling upset the balance? How so?
1. Returned from the Past

Water gushed from the ground in a sparkling fountain of liquid gems. The construction workers cried out in happiness and threw their hats up. A loud ::thud:: and a meow maid it clear that the familiar black cat had found itself in one of the hats paths.

"Meryl! Meryl we did it!" A tall woman in workers clothes cried out, beaming down at a much smaller woman with a short hair to match. The woman smiled weakly for just a brief second before casting her eyes up to search the stretching desert wearily before her.

"Do you think he'll come back Milly?" She said in a far-off tone, not taking her eyes off the barren land ahead of her and the Milly smiled reassuringly

"Of course!" Came the instant reply

"Yea, he wouldn't keep a good woman like me waiting…" The tiny woman smiled a little wider as she turned away to go back to the bar.

{A/N-I didn't know if Meryl asked, Milly replied, then Meryl commented with the woman thing, or if Milly asked and Meryl replied, so leave me a review if you know and I'll correct it.}

"Meryl! Oh my goodness!! Is that…Mr.Vash?!! Mr.Vash, he's back!" Without waiting for a reply, the tall woman charged out ahead of her towards a tiny figure with tall hair trudging their way.

Meryl spun around so fast her neck started to ache, but she paid no attention as she sprinted out after Milly, her cape billowing out behind her and shining against the harsh sun.

Milly had stopped, She had only gotten by hello before spotting the man Vash carried over his shoulder.

"Is that…?" Milly trailed off and Vash rubbed the back of his neck nervously

"Knives? Yes…" He looked down at his worn boots absentmindedly and was taken back when Milly threw her arms around him and Knives

"It's great to see you Vash, Meryl and me are so glad your back!" The gunman couldn't help but smile at Milly's kindness, and noted how she left out the 'Mister'

"Speaking of Meryl, where is my short insurance girl?" As if on cue, Meryl halted beside Milly, trying not to breathe to hard, but as she looked up into the Legendary Outlaws azure eyes, she found it hard to breath at all.

"How about I take your brother back to the house for you?" Millie asked quickly, giving Vash a look that said he had no choice, so he merely nodded in thanks and handed Knives over to Millie, who waved and gave him one of her heart-lifting smiles before turning to go back to the house.

"She seems to be getting along well…."The typhoon looked at Meryl, his eyes had definitely dimmed over the months, and sunken back into his paling skin, but through the stubble and the cuts, behind the troubled eyes, Meryl was still amazed at how breathtakingly beautiful this man really was.

Like an Angel.

"She sure puts on a good front, but I'm worried she's just numbing all the pain from Nicholas's d-d-d.." She couldn't say it. It would make things so final. Wolfwood had been a good friend to Meryl in small ways. When thoughts of Vash upset her, he would offer a smile and a kind word, and it had made Meryl most happy to see Milly and him together, she never felt jealous that Milly had Nick and that she would never have Vash, Meryl was just glad that Milly was happy

Vash rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly as he did often now, and after a few seconds, he found himself being crushed into a hug by Meryl.

Images of watching him leave, late nights wondering if he was dead, wondering what to do if her came back, or what to do if he never did, had flooded the little woman's mind, and instinctively she clutched to him like a child, never wanting to lose him again, and surprisingly enough, Vash wrapped his arms around Meryl as well, gingerly at first, afraid she might hit him, but when she didn't, he pulled her close and nestled her face in her hair, the scent of lavender overwhelming his senses. A voice in Meryl's head told her to get away, that Vash was only a broom-headed pervert, but for now, she brushed the voice off, not being sensible Meryl, because all she was thinking was about how she was curled in the arms of the man she loved and she never wanted to let go.

As the two grown adults clung to each other for security and reassurance, the suns painted a bright canvas behind them as it disappeared behind the endless horizon. The sudden loss of light awoke Meryl and she came to her senses, jumping back from Vash only to find a rosy color creeping into her cheeks.

"S-sorry" She whispered, mostly to herself. Vash opened his mouth to reply, but Meryl said, very quickly, something about not wanting to worry Millie and hurried off to the house.

Millie laid the blonde man on the bed in the guest room. She brushed a piece of unruly hair from his closed eyes and stepped back

(A/N I know Knives has short hair, but it's been a while, maybe it grew a wee bit, k?!..K then)

How could this man be related to Vash, not to mention be his twin brother. To Millie, Vash looked like her vision of an angel. Gentle blue eyes that, behind those sunglasses, were a symbol of compassion, wonderful blonde hair, and a sweet, caring face. It ripped at Millie heart when she thought of all that the Typhoon was forced to endure. He didn't deserve any of it.

"He deserves to settle down with Meryl in a great big house with a great big green yard and have lots of little Vashies" Millie giggled to herself as she thought of Meryl's face is she had heard that comment. Her giggle seemed to diminish as soon as she looked down at Knives sleeping form.

He seemed so…empty and cold. His pale face was twisted into a violent and detached expression. His hands were clenched at his sides, the knuckles whiter then chalk. Millie was sure that under those eyelids, his eyes were lifeless, full of death and chaos. This man had caused to much suffering and pain and death, when it was not his place to decide! Millie trembled with rage. This man was causing Vash, and therefore Meryl so much torture, he just threw something so precious as life away, and it was his fault Nicholas was dead!! Tears of rage steamed the girls face and she stomped out of the room.

She collapsed on the couch, trying to hold back sobs as Meryl burst in. She sat on the couch as well, and the girls shared a moment in silent understanding until Meryl turned to her friend in concern

"Millie?" She asked gingerly "What's wrong?"

"N-nothing Meryl, I'm fine, just stressed out…" Meryl looked worried, but didn't ask any more as she too sunk back on the couch

"Vash?" Millie questioned and as the smaller woman merely scowled, Millie couldn't help but giggle a little.

"Meryl, I've got an idea…" Millie said, sitting up and drying her eyes as her companion nodded for her to continue.

"There's a festival tomorrow, with food and dancing and singing, so why don't we all go to celebrate Mr. Vash's safe coming home?" She looked genuinely excited, and Meryl couldn't say no, so she nodded weakly and Millie pulled her into a bone-crushing hug.

The dark-haired woman stood up as she looked out the window and spotted a glimpse of Vash

"I'm going to take a nap, could you wake me up before dinner Millie ?" When the taller woman nodded, Meryl scurried upstairs and jumped into bed.

"Where's Meryl?" Vash questioned as soon as he had closed the door behind him, and Millie was thrown off a little, but pleasantly surprised, having been expecting his first question to be about his brother.

"She's taking bit of a nap" Millie replied, getting up and making her way to the kitchen to find something to make for dinner

"Oh-er how's Knives?" He asked, shuffling over to help her.

Millie paused for a second "He's fine, getting some rest"

"Ah" He nodded as he helped her with the dishes

'I've got this, why don't you get some rest to Mr. Vash"

"Naw, I'm okay, really" He reached for a cup to wash and Millie smacked his hand with a towel.

"Go lay down Vash, I can do this"

"Millie, I'm fine" She smacked him with the towel again as he tried to clean a plate and he whined

"Millie! That hurt!" He pouted as she pushed him towards the door

"Tough love" She teased

It was good to be back.

A long time ago, in a church far far away….

Wolfwood's body was gone. That day, Vash had returned to respectfully bury his best friends body, but it had disappeared. Nicholas had surely died, so someone…someone must have taken it.

'How horrible' The Typhoon had found himself thinking repeatedly. Vash spent many hours looking everywhere, but never found a trace, and that fact seemed to haunt his nights often, but if the Outlaw had just looked up, he would have found his heart, and his dreams would definitely have eased greatly.

"What the hell?!" Came the gruff voice of Nicholas D. Wolfwood.

He found himself sitting in the rafters of the church, looking down at his own lifeless body.

"I'm going to offer you a choice Nicholas hon" His head spun to the side to spot a girl sitting beside him

"Who the hell are you?" He demanded and she scowled at him

"You hush you mouth!" She said, putting her hands on her hips

"And who are you to tell me what to do?" He raised a eyebrow and the girl, who couldn't be older then twenty, smiled

"I'm your Guardian Angel, Azrael" She had long brunette hair, and emerald green eyes.

"You not like I pictured, and your not much of a Guardian angel to have let me die! And what kind of name is Azrael? What…Isn't that, aren't you…the Angel of Death? Just my luck, the girl supposed to protect also gets to kill everybody else…" Wolfwood scowled as Azrael chuckled

"Talk about Irony eh?"

"Are all Guardian Angels like, some other kind of Angel?" Wolfwood found himself interested and Azrael, glad nodded.

"Who's the Insurance Girls Angels? And Who's Needle-Nogin's? Because I don't think they're been doing a very good job….."

"Millie Angel is Abdiel, The Angel of Faith, Peace and Patience, and Meryl's Angel is Rampel, the Angel of Endurance."

(A/N-Mereyl's was gunna be Tappi, the Angel of Self determination, but I changed my mind, reminds me of Rabbi to much….)

"Makes since" The priest found himself smiling, "And Vash…"

"I'm his Guardian also - She pointed down to Vash, who was now looking around the chapel for Wolfwood, who wasn't there

"-and he's definitely a handful…" Before Nick could complain that she wasn't taking good care of his best friend, he turned his cinder colored eyes on the Angel

"Where is my body?!" Azrael put a hand to stop him, "I told you, you have a choice Mr. Wolfwood, and I have a feeling I know what you'll choose, but I've gotta warn you, that path with require the righting of wrongs, lots of work, and most important, forgiveness…"

He brushed a lock of black hair from his anticipating eyes

"So, Nicholas Devon Wolfwood, do you choose Death, and ultimately Heaven? Or…Life?"


	2. Tricks of the mind

"Owwww, stupid bed…"   
  
Vash sat trapped in a mess of blankets, on the floor of the room he was sharing with his brother. The Humanoid Typhoon had rolled out of bed, and onto the floor. He looked cautiously over to make sure he hadn't woken up Knives, then carefully untangled himself from the blankets and threw on a scruffy shirt and jeans before heading downstairs to see what he could scrape up for breakfast. There was no need, Millie had outdone her self. The table was covered with plates of pancakes, biscuits, juice, milk and…doughnuts! Vash hurried over, literally attacking the box. When he finished, he looked over at Millie, who was leaning on the counter, reading the comics.  
  
"Fakes Awot" He said before swallowing the last bit of doughnuts "I mean, thanks a lot Insurance girl"  
  
Millie beamed "But, It was Meryl's idea" Vash grinned as he looked over at Meryl, who wasn't visible behind the paper, which was standing up in front of her as she read. Vash ran over and scooped up the petite woman, swinging her around.  
  
"Oh, Meryl, thank you! I'm so happy you thought of me!!" Meryl, who had been blushing, was slowly becoming angry as she struggled to get out of his grasp. Her screams of protests were muffled in his shoulder, so she had to settle for slapping him.  
  
"Ouch! Your so mean Meryl!" Vash cried, dropping her with a dull ::thud:: on the kitchen floor. She stood up and straightened her uniform.  
  
"We're only feeding you because if you die, we have to go back home." She grumbled something and took her plate into the kitchen and started to wash it in the sink.  
  
The typhoon eagerly sat at the table and tucked into a second box of doughnuts.  
  
"Mister Vash, there's a festival tonight that Meryl and me are going to, and we'd really like it if you came" Millie suggested out of nowhere  
  
"Really? Oh….er…sorry, but I should probably stay and watch Knives, you girls go and have some fun." He shook the empty doughnut box  
  
"It's been just us for almost a year Vash, we want you to come, you need the fun too, don't you want to come a have a carefree night, spend some time with us?" Millie smiled innocently as she dried the dishes and waited for a response  
  
"Do you really want me to come?" He asked quietly  
  
"Of course!" The tall woman said in a heartbeat and elbowed Meryl who squeaked a "Yea"  
  
"I dunno what to do with Knives…" A hint of sadness in his voice  
  
"We'll figure out something I'm sure Mr. Vash." With that, Vash stood up a little happier as he went upstairs to shower.   
  
Millie had gone out shopping, and Vash was still in the shower, so Meryl laid down on the couch for a few minutes, hoping for a little quiet time, but Meryl's thoughts lately were never calm or simple.  
  
She thought about Knives, about Wolfwood, about her job, her family, her brothers, and of course, The Angel in Red, who was currently showering just upstairs. What he thought of her, what he was going to do, how she should act around him. She couldn't tell him how she felt, that was obvious. For so many reasons. She didn't want to make things awkward, she didn't want to worry him about the possibility as being kidnapped and used as a hostage, or something to torture Vash. Say he returned her feelings, Meryl would grow old, and Vash wouldn't, which would put them both in lots of pain. She didn't want to tie him down, she knew Vash wanted, and needed to travel.  
  
Raven hair flew everywhere as she shook her head, remembering Millie's word she had advised quietly last night  
  
"He's here now. Today Meryl, enjoy it before it's to late" Tears had graced the outer edges of Millie's eyes as she rolled over and pretended to fall asleep after whispering the words of comfort to her best friend. Meryl knew Millie missed Nick, and she was more then allowed to. It just ripped at Meryl so much to lay awake and hear Millie try to choke down her sobs.  
  
"So much pain…" The dark-hairs woman whispered as she got up to wash her face and wake up a bit. As she took the steps in two, she looked up at the top and spotted Vash, wearing only a towel, wrapped loosely around his waist. He was standing in the bathroom, door open, making funny faces in the mirror.  
  
Meryl let out a small giggle as he growled at his reflection and wiggled his eyebrows. Vash turned and spotted her, instantly turning red. Before she could say anything, or he could close the door, Meryl spied a new wound, two actually, in his shoulders. She took the last three steps in one stride, surprising herself and Vash, considering her small legs. Vash tried to close the door, but she slid in the small bathroom before he could.  
  
"This is kinda invasion of privacy Meryl" Vash said as she forced him to turn away.  
  
"Number one, you left the door open, number two, It's not your house, and number three, I need to look at these"  
  
"They're fine!" He whined, but Meryl didn't listen  
  
"And your not. Just let me help, please Vash" Her soft voice tickled his ears as he nodded in defeat.  
  
"Good, stay here" She disappeared with the faint swish of her cloak, and then returned with a handful of bandages and went to work. Vash found himself amazed at how gentle and faint her touch was for a woman that could knock him silly. Meryl finished wrapping it in a new bandage and stepped back, gathering up the supplies, when she felt a hand on her arm. As she turned around, she swallowed a squeak, finding her inches from Vash. His cerulean colored eyes pinning her wide violet ones.  
  
"V-V-Vash?" The Outlaw's lips curled into a sly smile.  
  
"Thanks Meryl" He whispered, hugging her, and placing a small kiss on her cheek. Meryl was glad that the light was fairly poor in the bathroom, because she felt a blush grace her pale cheekbones.  
  
"For what?"  
  
"For being my Insurance girl."  
  
Millie was walking back from the store, groceries littering her arms as she hugged them to her chest. She saw a flash of movement out of the corner of her eye and twisted her neck to see, but didn't find anyone. A few minutes later, there it was again, but this time she saw it clearly, and it made her drop her groceries. They rolled away from her but she didn't care as she stared across the road to a alley, where Nicholas had just been standing.  
  
   
  
A/N[I know, short chapter and I left a lot hanging, but I was on a roll then BAM rolled into cement wall and 


End file.
